EST-Floattech Wins Battery Order for 15 River Cruise Vessels
Each vessel will carry 650 kilowatt-hours of installed capacity for partial electric propulsion, hotel demand and emergency power on the Danube and in the Black Sea region.
EST-Floattech will supply battery systems for 15 new river cruise vessels under a contract with Dutch electrical systems integrator Van Tiem Elektro. Each ship will receive 650 kWh of installed capacity. The vessels are intended for operators including AmaWaterways and Uniworld.
The installations will provide about 9.7 MWh of combined capacity. Work on the first vessels is already underway.
The ships are being outfitted at De Gerlien van Tiem in Druten, the Netherlands, and Vahali Shipyards in Ghent, Belgium. They are scheduled to operate on the Danube and in the Black Sea region. No other cruise operators have been identified for the series.
Battery systems to support propulsion and hotel loads
The Octopus High Energy installations will support partial electric propulsion, onboard hotel demand and emergency power. The product’s 10-kWh modules use lithium nickel manganese cobalt chemistry, while a String Controller enables Modbus integration with other vessel systems.
The platform has type approval from DNV, Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, ABS and RINA. EST-Floattech develops the system’s cells, modules and control technology internally.
Van Tiem Elektro has fitted Octopus systems before
Marinus van der Putte, sales manager at EST-Floattech, said Van Tiem Elektro’s familiarity with the Octopus platform and its previous maritime electrification work supported the decision to expand the companies’ cooperation into the 15-vessel program.
The Wamel-based integrator has previously installed Octopus systems aboard tankers and river cruise vessels, including Solara and Astara. Its work covers electrical installations, diesel-hybrid and diesel-electric propulsion, vessel monitoring and energy-storage systems.
Delivery program runs through 2030
Maarten Soetekouw, co-owner of Van Tiem Elektro, described the order as one of the company’s largest electrification programs. Deliveries for the new river cruise vessels are scheduled to continue through 2030.
